Years ago, I was struggling with moving forward in my life and work. I would not have used the term “stuck” only because it was not a part of my thinking process. I only knew that I was showing up externally “happy” and internally just wanted to quit life. I could not tell anyone this because I was a teacher and a religious education director and I was supposed to be a leader with regard to faith and God was really counting on me. That is was I would play over and over again. Every morning I would get up and tell myself it would be different today. It never was. I came to believe that life was what it was, I was discouraged, and I constantly felt like a failure. I was living out the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It was what I call the cycle of a fixed mindset.
What is growth mindset vs. fixed mindset.
Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset
Creating and sticking to new habits, for many of us, isn’t exactly an easy feat. We tend to make up all sorts of excuses on what’s going on that we aren’t following through, then the truth of the matter is, it probably has more to do with our mindset than anything else. When we live our life making excuses, we will never get the results we want. That is another story for another day.
There are two basic types of mindset: Growth and Fixed.
Most of us don’t fit neatly into one little box and have a combination of traits of both, and in all honesty, we tend to lean more heavily to one side or the other. A good tool to measure what side of the equation you are on, is to think about a situation where you might consider the result being a failure. How did you respond? If you made an excuse (It wasn’t my fault because ….) you are living a fixed mindset. I call that living in excuses. There is never growth when you make excuses and there are never the results you seek. Your mindset is “stuck.”
The object is to work smarter, not harder, right? Well, that is going to require growth. And our capacity for growth, or our belief about far we think we can grow, points directly back to our mindset. The following chart depicts the strongest, most prevalent traits for growth and fixed mindsets.
Which column more accurately describes you? Be honest.
| Growth Mindset | Fixed Mindset |
| • Believes talent and intelligence can be developed
• Effort is the key to mastering your goal • Failures are stepping stones; part of learning • Every failure is an opportunity to improve • Welcomes new challenges and ideas • Encourages feedback • Delighted by others’ successes; uses it as fuel and inspiration for their own goals |
• Believes talent and intelligence are fixed
• Additional effort is pointless • “Why try?” attitude if there is a chance of failure • Embarrassed by mistakes & failures • Avoids new methods and challenges • Takes constructive criticism personally • Gets discouraged or intimidated when others succeed
|
You might exhibit traits from both sides and you can most likely identify with one more so than the other. Good news! It’s completely normal. Glancing at the chart above you can also tell which mindset is more positive and reaches higher levels of success. Understand, neither is bad or good, right or wrong; one gives us results the other keeps up stuck.
Growth Mindset
If this is your mindset, you believe anything is possible! You can learn anything, try anything and achieve anything if you are persistent and put in enough effort. You’ve got the basic skills of life and the sky is the limit.
Your basic skills are simply a starting point to reaching any goal you set forth. Your belief is that intelligence can be nurtured and developed and it’s up to you. If you are a growth mindset person, you are a creator. The world is at your finger tips and you are ready to go after it!
Fixed Mindset
Although those with a fixed mindset want to appear intelligent, they also believe they are as smart as they will ever be and need to use their current skillset to attain success. Their “fixed” intelligence cannot be modified as far as they are concerned. The same is true of life, “it is what it is.”
I once had a friend who was so unhappy, hated her job and was always depressed. When we talked about the potential of shifting her mindset, she said, “this is the way my grandmother was, my mom is, and it is my fate.” I told her that it was a choice that she was making and with a little personal investment of her time, she could change her mindset. She had no interest; I would venture to guess she is where she was 8 years ago as well as when she was 8 years old.
Fixed mindset folks live with a lot of fear: fear of appearing unintelligent, fear they will be found out (for whatever), fear of ….., you fill in the blank. Fear runs their life.
Many people with fixed mindset are what we call worker bees. Hitting repeat everyday. Always getting the same results.
This brings me to one of my favorite statements: You can stand in your power or sit in your …. well, you get the picture. Bottom line is: it is about choice.
So, ask yourself: where do you stand? Are you willing to invest in yourself and begin living your dreams or are you going to continue to suffer and blame everyone and everything for your misery?
Reality is, you cannot create a different tomorrow with the same mind that created your today. Now is the only time you have, make the most of it!
This is what Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is all about – helping you get out of your way so you can get on your way.
If you would like to know more, please contact me at derlene@youempoweredservices.com. If you choose not to move off of your current mindset, well, at least you have an understanding as to why and where you are in your life and/or business. That alone is valuable information.
Here’s to your success in life and business!
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